AMID the squawks and pings of our digital devices, the old-fashioned virtues of reading novels can seem faded, even futile. But new support for the value of fiction is arriving from an unexpected quarter: neuroscience.

This is the first time that Shamanism has been officially recognized as a religion in Norway. According to TV2, director Lone Ebeltoft in the newly founded Shamanic Federation welcomed the governor's decision and expressed her ambition to preserve and continue the shamanistic traditions and practices in the country.

A Bolivian judge has rejected calls to resign after he admitted "reading" coca leaves to help him make decisions.Judge Gualberto Cusi - who is from the indigenous Aymara community - said he used the traditional divination technique to help guide his judgement.

The agony of toothache can leave you willing to go to the ends of the earth in search of a cure.But you may need to look no further than the depths of the rainforest.A rare red and yellow plant from the Amazon could offer more effective pain relief than existing drugs and treatments, scientists have claimed.